A status on 2023 so far
- September 13, 2023
Things are moving fast at Digital Servicebook. Here, our CEO and founder Kim Koch gives you an insight into this year’s milestones so far and makes you wiser as to why the company’s proprietary digital service book is only the first step towards ensuring a higher industry standard when it comes to transparency and a simpler everyday life for workshops and car owners. One of the coming milestones is the ability to upload to OE platforms via Digital Servicebook. Read on to learn more.
The foundation is in place
Since the beginning of 2023, hard work has been done to future-proof the software platform, making it easy and convenient for workshops to register service on all vehicle brands in one place, while making service history available to both workshops and vehicle owners and maintaining the full factory warranty.
“Our platform had long needed a thorough service. We started developing the platform back in 2015, and since then a lot has happened on the technical front. Therefore, we had to get to the core of our product and make sure that it was better equipped for the future,” says Kim Koch.
In addition to an updated platform, which speeds up the search for cars and service history, time has also been found to give both the logo and the visual identity – including the website and mobile app – a makeover. The latter was relaunched in August and is available on both Android and iOS.
Great interest throughout Europe
The year started with a visit to the Automässan exhibition in Gothenburg, where both existing and potential customers and partners expressed great enthusiasm for the Digital Servicebook platform and its many advantages.
“We are experiencing increasing demand both from the Nordic markets and the rest of Europe. To ensure continued growth in our new markets, we have this year hired sales managers in both Sweden and Norway. This has already led to a number of new cooperation agreements, for which we have high expectations. In Sweden we have entered into an agreement with the wholesaler Atoy, while in Norway we have entered into a partnership with the tyre and workshop chain Vianor and Viking Kontroll – a neutral player in vehicle assessment,” says Kim Koch.
In Denmark, FTZ was appointed official distributor of Digital Servicebook, which aims at even closer cooperation. The integration between Digital Servicebook and the FTZ+ garage management system is already one of the most widely used among workshops using the platform.
In June, we went to Automechanika Birmingham, where we took the temperature on the English market. Here, too, there was generally positive feedback, but a general flaw of the platform was repeatedly mentioned – namely, the ability to upload service data to OE platforms as well.
In addition to our presence in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK, we have also gradually turned our attention to both Finland and Germany this year, where Germany in particular has enormous potential due to the country’s size. In 2022, there were around 36,000 workshops in Germany, of which 22,000 were independent workshops. By comparison, there are around 15,000 workshops in the Nordic region that are relevant to Digital Servicebook.
Strengthened team with extensive industry experience
This year, the company has hired several new employees – including a new IT manager, a marketing manager, an OE data analyst and sales managers to strengthen our local teams in Sweden and Norway. Common for all of them is that they contribute a lot of experience from outside, which will help spread knowledge about and increase the use of Digital Servicebook and the development of the platform and product to completely new heights.
On the sales side, Teis Jaakkonen Nielsen has just been hired as sales coordinator. He has 16 years of experience in sales and marketing as well as a large network in the automotive industry. For the past 3 years he has run the company Nordic Network and helped companies from the automotive industry all over Europe to enter the Nordic market.
“The latest additions to the team testify to Digital Servicebook’s enormous potential. I am proud that we can attract such talented and experienced people who want to be part of the journey and help us spread the word about our platform,” says Kim Koch.
What does the coming months have to offer?
Product development in Digital Servicebook is a continued focus, where access to and ownership of vehicle data is at the core. The focus is on car owners, who have the right to their own data and are free to choose where to use it. The aim is to provide even better safety for car owners and provide them with the best service regardless of the choice of workshop, the highest safety through a fully maintained car and ensure that the warranty is maintained regardless of where the car is serviced and repaired.
Shortly, the option to purchase uploading of service data to OE portals will be launched for those workshops that want to use it. Today it is possible to download data from OE portals, but until now it has not been possible to upload data from Digital Servicebook directly to OE portals after conducting service. This is now about to change – very much due to high demand from the UK and several other markets.
We are also exploring the possibilities driven by AI (artificial intelligence) and emerging technologies such as telematics, where real-time in-car data can potentially contribute to an even better service from workshops to car owners. With the amount of data, we have access to, we also want to better equip car dealers when buying and selling cars. That’s why we are working on another add-on module for our platform, giving them certainty that the cars they trade are sold at the right price. On top of this, the plan is also to create greater visibility at various car sales outlets, so that everyone who deals in cars – private as well as business – has certainty about the car’s history and certainty about the car’s true value.
Although Digital Servicebook is now 8 years old, our growth journey has only just begun.
